(10-25-2015, 11:42 PM)Mae Wrote: I'm not posting because I'm a brat. I'm posting because I am annoyed by an incident and that annoyance has been further irritated by what seems to be an influx of certain commercials
So.
Dear Everyone Who Is Not a Licensed Professional Driver:
You may not realize it, but your comfy little lives depend on those big 18-wheeler trucks that so many see as a nuisance on the highway and brand as "dangerous". Unless you have literally gathered, built, grown, forged, and crafted every single thing in your life by hand, there is not a single material aspect that has not been affected by the trucking industry.Â
If you are among the mis-informed who sit around whining about the trucks on the highway and how dangerous they are, you would probably be shocked to learn that over 80% of the highway accidents that involve 18-wheeler trucks are caused by four-wheeler drivers. Even if the four-wheeler in question was not in the accident itself, it was initiated -by- a four-wheeler. About 12% is acts of weather, the gods, animals, and situations that could not be predicted and/or anticipated. That leaves less than 8% that is actual the error of the 18-wheeler driver.
8% versus 80%. And you (if you are among the mis-informed) say that the 18-wheelers are the danger.
In case you weren't aware, it takes a an 18-wheeler three to six times longer than a four-wheeler to slow down and/or stop. When a four-wheeler fails to merge properly onto the highway (either by not yielding and merging onto the highway before reaching highway speeds OR coming to the end of the merge far ahead of the 18-wheeler, panicking, and then slamming on the brakes), the accident caused is the fault of the four-wheeler regardless if the four-wheeler is the one that was hit. "Brake-checking" (getting in front of another vehicle and braking for no reason) an 18-wheeler to "make sure the driver is awake and aware" is an act of stupidity that has caused countless accidents. Lurking not only in the truck's blind spots but anywhere alongside the truck causes the drivers anxiety because you're blocking their escape routes if there IS a problem ahead (and they will see this problem well before you do), and turning on your headlights as you pass them to "make sure they know you're there" blinds them from seeing the road. The distance between cutting off a truck versus cutting off a car is vastly different. Similar with tailgating a truck -- if you cannot see both mirrors of the truck in front of you, you are tailgating REGARDLESS of how many feet you are away from the ICC bumper.
If even half the trucks get shut down (or strike), fuel shortages will begin to crop up within three hours. Within five hours, manufacturing will be affected. Twenty-four hours, hospitals will begin to run out of critical-care items, food shortages would begin, and manufacturing would grind to a halt. Within three days, fuel would be almost impossible to find, banking would be suspended because money could not be transferred and ATM's would be empty, infectious diseases in cities would become a problem because garbage/sanitation services would not be able to operate because of fuel shortages, and emergency services would be crippled. Within a week, hospitals would be out of oxygen and most emergency/critical-care supplies. Two weeks, potable drinking water would become short in supply.
Lawyers and... I don't know what to call them, advocates against the trucking industry? often compare 18-wheeler trucks to "unstoppable freight trains". Well, let's go with that and say it's accurate. Freight trains are quite safe to be around.... if you don't be an idiot and fuck around them. Same with the big trucks. And unless you live 100% off-the-grid with 100% hand-manufactured tools, shelter, clothes and 100% hand-gathered and hand-grown food, your life depends on the big trucks.
Sincerely,Â
A friend of a trucker who's being sued by the family of a drunk that rammed himself up under the ICC of the truck and killed himself
Usually the driver is only included in the lawsuit because they're trying to get at the commercial insurance policy on the truck. Â In many states (including my own), you have to sue every party involved in the accident in order to sue the commercial insurance policy covering the truck (I have seen this literally include other victims in the accident!). Â I hope that your friend isn't in my state (though it's possible that this is something in other states, too, I just don't know) because we have a concept called "comparative fault." Â What this means is, even if the other driver completely caused the accident, the judge/jury can still assign blame to the driver not at fault because they didn't take enough "mitigating" steps (in the eyes of the judge/jury) to avoid the accident. Â It is, quite frankly, bullshit and one of the reasons our insurance rates are so high. Â So I really hope that your friend gets it worked out.
*Source: I actually used to be an assistant underwriter for a commercial insurance company, and worked in civil litigation for several years as an assistant.
That said - I nearly was run off the road by a semi two weeks ago because he didn't look to see who was in his lane. Â He was trying to change lanes to the right in a very crowded two lane highway with traffic merging from the right up ahead (it's hard to describe, but basically it's two lanes with a wall on either side, but there is a merge where it becomes 4 lanes about a quarter mile ahead). Â I nearly got slammed into the wall and no, I wasn't in his blind spot - I could see him in his mirror. Â I laid on the horn and thankfully he went back into his lane.
I've also witnessed semi trucks driving 15-20 miles above the speed limit during high traffic parts of the day. Now, my uncle is also a commercial truck driver, and his company limits them to a max of 50 on an interstate within city limits. Â I don't know if that's industry wide, but I am pretty sure that going 80 in a 60 is probably not "okay" by any company. Â Yet, it happens constantly in my city.
![[Image: hFalP38.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/hFalP38.jpg)
